Success Stories

Anti-personnel mines have become a serious problem throughout the world today. Death and injuries from mines in the world during the past decades now total in the hundreds of thousands. It is estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 new casualties are caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year. Most of these casualties are civilians and most lie in countries that are now at peace.
Playing its part to help eradicate this serious problem, during 2003-2004 the STCU financed and successfully completed a project entitled Research of the Technical Condition of Ammunition Containing PFM-1 Series Anti-Personnel Mines (APMs).

Financially backed by the European Union, this project was aimed at obtaining information regarding possible ways for safely destroying various forms of ammunition (canisters, bombs, and propelled shells) for special kinds of anti-personnel mines (APM) containing toxic liquid explosives. At nearly 6 million units, the total number of PFM 1 series APMs in Ukraine is quite great and poses a real security and environmental threat which is exacerbated by the fact that the shelf life for the mines has already expired.

The head of the Common Arms Reduction Support Fund and Project Manager Roman Karpenko assembled a team of specialists in various fields (ammunition, explosive, toxicology, chemistry, etc.) who were capable of thoroughly exploring the problem, performing the necessary experiments (including field testing explosions of the ammunition and toxicological analysis employing animals), and preparing recommendations on what technologies could be employed for the utilization of the mines; all in less than one year. The project was performed in close collaboration with Peter Krejsa a European expert in the field of ammunition destruction.

The project results will be used in order to prepare and hold a tender on the choice of the most appropriate technology for the destruction of the mines.